Reducing emissions, financing the energy transition and protecting people from global warming: these key issues will bring governments together in Antalya, Turkey, from 9 to 20 November. COP31 aims to advance negotiations on climate change mitigation, adaptation, financing for developing countries and the conditions for a just transition. Turkey is chairing the conference and Australia is chairing the negotiations.
In Luxembourg, the government is focusing on implementing international commitments and mobilising investment. The Votum Klima civil society platform, which brings together 25 Luxembourgish NGOs, is calling for national actions to be clarified and for the country’s financial contribution to be increased. The Climate Youth Delegates are also putting forward proposals, ranging from European carbon pricing mechanisms to equipment for schools.
Europe is aiming for a 90% reduction in emissions by 2040
The European Union (EU) is aiming to achieve climate neutrality by 2050, with two intermediate targets: a reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions of at least 55% by 2030 and 90% by 2040, compared with 1990 levels. For the 2040 target, the European framework allows for the use of international carbon credits from 2036 onwards, up to a limit of five percentage points. The target therefore implies a domestic reduction in net emissions of at least 85% compared with 1990 levels.
Ahead of COP31, the conclusions of the EU Council meeting on 12 October call for the implementation of national climate plans and set out the findings of the first global stocktake under the Paris Agreement. In particular, they advocate a transition involving the phasing out of fossil fuels “in a fair, orderly and equitable manner” and emphasise the complementary nature of emissions reduction and adaptation to the consequences of global warming.
In Luxembourg: national targets and a focus on implementation
The Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (PNEC) sets a target of a 55% reduction in emissions by 2030 compared with 2005, outside the European Union Emissions Trading System, excluding land use and forestry. This percentage is therefore not directly comparable with that of the EU, which is based on a different reference year and a different scope. Luxembourg is also aiming for 37% of final energy consumption to come from renewable sources by 2030 and to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest.
Regarding the Antalya negotiations, the minister for the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity, 
This focus on implementing commitments was already reflected in his position at the informal meeting of European environment ministers held on 23 and 24 July in Dublin. At that meeting, Serge Wilmes also called for greater mobilisation of private capital to support the transition, particularly in the most vulnerable countries.
An international budget of €320m
Luxembourg’s international climate finance strategy allocates €320m for 2026–2030, compared with €220m for 2021–2025. This funding is in addition to official development assistance. It combines several instruments, including grants and blended finance mechanisms, to support vulnerable communities, ecosystems and climate investments.
The government is also banking on Rio Changemakers, a platform project that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate private investment in climate, biodiversity and community solutions. When it was announced at COP30, the Ministry of the Environment presented the initiative, such as a way of reducing transaction costs and bringing investors and project owners closer together, in particular indigenous peoples and local communities.
Votum Klima is calling for a timetable for phasing out fossil fuels
In a press release dated 4 November, Votum Klima calls on Luxembourg to adopt a “coherent and ambitious” approach. The platform, which includes Greenpeace Luxembourg, ASTM, Cell and Amnesty International Luxembourg, is calling for a national roadmap for phasing out fossil fuels, with specific targets and deadlines.
This request relates, in particular, to the five-centime-per-litre discount on diesel and petrol. On 29 October, the government and social partners agreed to extend this support until the end of February 2027, whilst subsidies for electricity, gas and heating oil are set to continue until the end of 2027. Votum Klima, on the other hand, is calling for the fuel discount to be scrapped as of 31 December 2026 – two months before the new deadline. The platform proposes, if necessary, replacing it with support measures targeted at households.
The demands also relate to the financial centre: Votum Klima wants to exclude the financing of fossil fuel exploration and production from it and to publish details of the exposure of funds domiciled in Luxembourg to these activities. At European level, it is calling for an amendment to the Climate Act so that the target of a 90% reduction by 2040 is based on domestic reductions, without international credits or carbon sinks being used as offsets.
Funding in terms of a “fair share”
Votum Klima welcomes the climate finance package and the fact that it is additional to development aid, but considers the amount to be insufficient. The €320m over five years represents an average of €64m per year. The press release points out that in 2025, the ASTM estimated Luxembourg’s “fair share” to be at least €600m per year. This figure is an estimate put forward by the association, not a government commitment.
The platform is calling for an annual plan for 2026–2030 that specifies the amounts, the breakdown between grants and loans, and the resources allocated to adaptation as well as loss and damage. It is also calling for greater transparency regarding Rio Changemakers, criticising the announcement as having been made “without transparency or consultation”.
“Adaptation is essential, but it must never be used as a pretext for accepting a 2°C or 3°C rise. Every tenth of a degree counts: 1.5°C must remain our target,” says David Hoffmann, the ASTM’s policy advocacy coordinator.
Climate finance and solar schools
Josephine Loschetter and Alexander Feil, Luxembourg’s Climate Youth Delegates, are presenting their recommendations. In drawing up these recommendations, they consulted more than 150 young people, held discussions with youth political organisations and took part in more than five events.
They are calling on Luxembourg to defend the European Union Emissions Trading System and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). They wish to allocate the revenue from the latter to international climate finance. Their paper also proposes mobilising more private capital in low-income countries, in particular through public guarantees and hedging against exchange rate risk.
At national level, the young delegates are calling for solar panels and heat pumps in schools and universities, as well as better integration of climate risks and decarbonisation into school curricula. They wish to develop work placements within organisations active in the climate sector and expand the International Climate Finance Days into events across the country, with more opportunities for students to get involved.
Involving civil society in the negotiations
Citizen participation is also one of Votum Klima’s demands. The platform is seeking meetings with the government both before and after the COPs and the interim negotiation sessions held in Bonn, Germany.
In Antalya, it called on Luxembourg to work with the EU to defend freedom of expression and the right to protest, the safety of journalists and the rights of indigenous peoples. It also called for a framework to address conflicts of interest in climate negotiations in order to limit the influence of high-emission industries.
